Sandy transformed our relation to the world. One year ago this largest Atlantic hurricane on record merged with a frontal system, slamming into the Eastern seaboard and debilitating communities with such force and breadth that it was popularly and governmentally nicknamed a “superstorm.” Beyond material devastation and personal losses, the impact in the shift of consciousness in this highly developed region was even more consequential. We joined the expanding global community of sufferers from weather’s intensifying volatility – drought in India, Russia, Syria and Texas; extreme tornados in Oklahoma; wildfires in California and New Mexico; heatwaves in Europe; flooding in China, Colorado, Louisiana, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Russia – and recognized our vulnerability to the indirect but undeniable systemic consequences of global warming’s heightened physical energies.

As acute dwellers in the world, the artists in this exhibition engaged with the storm and the issues surrounding it ranging from material chaos to ecological degradation. The modest scale of some works evoke intimate revelation, while the boldness of others conveys the storm’s engulfing power. Addressing the forces of nature manifested in a once and likely future catastrophe, these artists – and we – apply the forces of culture toward developing social and ecological resiliency.